I'm all aglow right now because the “Phase One” renovation of my 1960s Riverdale 'Swell Dwell' is nearing completion.
This wasn't a terribly complicated renovation, but it also wasn't just a lick of paint. I cosmetically overhauled a Garden Suite which was, shall I say, rather worse for wear. Some years back this purpose-built duplex had been reconfigured by a family who occupied the whole house. They had relocated the main floor kitchen to the original rear second bedroom and removed all the walls in the middle bedroom to create an open concept living space. In fact, when I bought the house this main floor 'Studio Apartment' was occupied by a young family with a herd of pets, which was difficult to see past and underscored the potential that existed. Given my objective is to generate an income while creating a multi-family dwelling (which I consider the 'highest and best use'), I determined my first course of action would be to return this suite back into its original two bedroom floor plan like the existing Upper Unit.
Now, four months in, the laundry list of final 'To-Dos' is becoming shorter and shorter, which means I'm ready to bring this 2-bedroom furnished Garden Suite to market as a short term weekly or monthly rental while I embark on the more complicated – and time-consuming – “Phase Two”. Yes, the next step of this renovation is to get planning approvals to go up, and maybe out. I'd like to say I definitively know what I'm going to do but I'm going to take a little breather over Holiday and catch my breath. It's been a long four months, and I need time to process.
However, this has been a fun renovation, in that I've been able to indulge most of my aesthetic whims. This isn't unusual… I did it rejuvenating The Button Factory in Toronto's Little Italy, renovating The Movie House in the same neighbourhood, and restoring The Black House – my luxury vacation rental in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In this project, I intentionally tried to keep my design simple, pared down, and respectful of its 1960s vintage. I've done this by purchasing some 1960s furniture from Guff, some 1960s light fixtures from Studio Pazo, and some 1960s screens from MachineAgeModern which I've artfully incorporated into the space.
I also have a penchant for cords and Edison bulbs, so when it came to upgrading the washroom, I decided to make the most of it. Here are my inspiration photos.
Here's a “Before Pic” of the washroom:
Here's the 1960s cabinet from Guff Furnishings which I paid $120 for that was reworked into a sink cabinet (with new drawer fronts)
And here's the final fusion into a Voila! Washroom!
The black cloth pendant cords with Edison bulbs were sourced at Morba on Queen Street West!
Don't you love?
Big thanks to my carpenter Silvie Varone for making this possible!
Stay tuned for more reveal on the Tales From Tennis Crescent!
~ Steven and the urbaneer team
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Tales From Tennis Crescent